There are a lot of fantastic character-heavy games that I love but just never finished. Maybe it's the story. Likely it's really the pacing. I haven't beaten any Persona game, and very few visual novels. Which mostly put characters first. So while my gut reaction is to say characters can drive a bad story and make it bearable, it also doesn't gaurantee I'll stick around for the whole thing. Then again, 90 hours for a Persona game or Xenoblade Chronicles, and stuff is really just asking a lot

I'm trying to think of games that I've enjoyed that had pretty good stories, but bland characters. Maybe Shining Force? Or Neir Automata? Actually, Dark Souls is a pretty good example. Aside from the gameplay aspect, a lot of people adote the lore and story behind everything. The characters are almost completely forgettable on a personal level. You remember them because of their stories for the most part

So or me it's probably that thing where people say they prefer a dark roast coffee, but in reality mostly drink creamy coffee, just because they prefer the idea of a robust dark roast with good character. I prefer the idea of great characters, but probably fair better with great story and plot

But in reality, I think pacing is probably the most important part. If there's too much down time, you get tired of both the plot and the characters. If there's no room to breathe, you can quickly get burned out on either

But my favorite games have it all, so I'm just a snob